A lake and popular fishing spot in West Texas has turned blood-red this summer as you can see from the images here. Of course, those crazy end of the world believers are interpreting this frightening occurrence as a sign that the apocalypse is near. But the real reason the OC Fisher Reservoir in San Angelo State Park turned to "blood" and all the fish died has a much more rational explanation than a biblical plague (albeit no less disturbing) ...

It shouldn't come as a shock that ever since the lake turned, Doomsday fanatics -- like Indiana preacher Paul Begley -- were quick to declare it evidence of the apocalypse and even quoted directly from the Biblical book of Revelation:

The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died ... The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

Unfortunately for Begley and his followers, the real cause is much less exciting. According to officials from Texas Parks and Wildlife Inland Fisheries, the bloody color is the result of Chromatiaceae bacteria, which thrives in oxygen-depleted water and often takes on an opaque red hue. Texas is experiencing a severe drought this summer, which in turn is causing water levels throughout the state to drop. What likely happened here is that the fish began to die as the lake dried up; the decomposing fish reduced the oxygen levels in the water leading to a rapid increase of this Chromatiaceae bacteria.

Of course, the fact that the red color isn't a sign of the end of the world is little consolation to those for whom the reservoir was a popular fishing and recreation spot. And the disturbing (not to mention heartbreaking) part is that as the drought continues, several other reservoirs throughout the state could meet a similar deadly fate.